Lars von Trier reveals the first cast for his upcoming feature THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT, with the leading role as the serial killer Jack to be portrayed by American star, Matt Dillon.
From his breakthrough performance in The Outsiders to his hilarious turn as an obsessed private investigator in There's Something About Mary, Dillon has proven himself to be one of the most diverse actors of his generation. He has won IFP Spirit Awards for both his gritty performance as a drug addict in Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy, and his arresting performance as a racist cop in the critically acclaimed Crash, for which he also received Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and BAFTA Award nominations.
Facing Matt Dillon as Jack, Swiss all-timer Bruno Ganz will take on the role as the mysterious Verge, who engages Jack in a recurring conversation about his actions and thoughts.
Bruno Ganz has had a prominent career in especially German language films and TV, and had his big breakthrough in Sommergäste from 1976. He has worked with several internationally acclaimed directors such as Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders and Francis Ford Coppola, and is known for Wings of Desire and Pane e tulipani as well as his acclaimed portrayal of Adolf Hitler in Der Untergang. At the 2010 European Film Awards, Ganz received a Lifetime Achievement Award.
"It´s with great pleasure that we have succeeded in being able to present Matt Dillon and Bruno Ganz as the lead actors in The House That Jack Built. The two gentlemen have each figured as milestones in my cinematic development. Besides being an epochal match, they are excellent actors and fit quite organically into “my cinematic family”. I look forward with pleasure and pride to working with them both," states Lars von Trier.
The House That Jack Built follows the highly intelligent Jack over a span of 12 years and introduces the murders that define Jack´s development as a serial killer. We experience the story from Jack´s point of view, while he postulates each murder is an artwork in itself. As the inevitable police intervention is drawing nearer, he is taking greater and greater risks in his attempt to create the ultimate artwork.
Additional cast, including 4 prominent female roles, is to be set soon.
Shootings will take place in Trollhättan, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark.
The film has been sold to UK (Curzon Artificial Eye), Latin America (California Filmes), Benelux (September), Poland (Gutek), Taiwan (Moviecloud), China (DD Dream International Media),
Korea (Atnine Film), Former Yugoslavia (Cinemania), Czech Republic (Aero) and Romania (Independenta Film 97).
The House That Jack Built is produced by Zentropa Group in co-production with Film i Väst, Copenhagen Film Fund, Slot Machine, with support from Danish Film Institute, Swedish Film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, CNC, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Eurimages, The Media Programme of the European Union, and in cooperation with DR, Nordisk Film Distribution, Concorde Filmverleih, Potemkine, Les Films du Losange, SVT.
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